Chapter 55: Plan
Read upto 25+ advance chapters exclusively on my Patreon ahead of everybody else - www.patreon.com/Sniperwoof
------------------
While the three Pokémon were happily enjoying their meals, Sato gathered some dry branches and leaves from the nearby bushes. Using the smooth pebbles he had collected earlier, he set up a makeshift stove. Then, from his Team Rocket watch, he pulled out a large iron pot. He filled it with river water and, using his lighter, started a fire to boil the water.
Sato was very conscious of food hygiene. While Gloom, being a Grass-type Pokémon, could probably drink straight from the river, he, Zubat, and the young Nidoran could not. Getting sick from contaminated water in the middle of nowhere could be extremely dangerous, so boiling the water was essential before they could drink it.
As the water boiled, Sato pulled out his own meal—a type of compressed biscuit made from whole grains. Though quite nutritious and filling, these biscuits weren't the tastiest. Additionally, they made you extremely thirsty, so after finishing one, Sato had to gulp down large amounts of the boiled water.
Lunch didn't take Sato long. In just a few minutes, he finished his meal, and after a few swigs of water, he pulled out the trial map and his laptop.
Sato began cross-referencing the map provided for the trial with his own memories and used basic drawing software to create a more detailed map. His custom map was more precise than the one provided, noting the Pokémon distributions along his path.
So far, his map consisted of three parts. The first was the grassy area where they had started, inhabited by many Rattata and dominated by a powerful Arbok.
The second part was the forest, though he had only explored a small section of it so far. Based on his observations, this part of the forest appeared to be Beedrill territory, though it was likely just the edge of their domain.
Judging by the claw marks on the trees between the grassland and the forest, and how the Arbok had decided to stop chasing them, Sato suspected that a powerful Ursaring ruled the forest. The Beedrill swarm might even be under the protection of this Ursaring.
The third part was the river they were currently near. According to the mission-provided map, this river was home to extremely dangerous Pokémon, indicated by the red skull marking it as a high-level threat.
In this trial, Sato not only had to survive for two weeks but also find scattered mission items on the map. The nearest item to him was somewhere in this forest.
"What could this mission item look like? Finding it in this huge forest is going to be tough…" Sato sighed, feeling a bit helpless as he studied the map, where three green triangle markers were placed in the forest.
Sato was well aware of his current strength. Zubat was level 18, the newly caught Gloom was level 22, and the still young Nidoran was just level 1. That meant he only had two Pokémon capable of fighting. Despite his small exploration area, he had already encountered a nearly unbeatable Beedrill swarm. If he wanted to explore the forest fully, he would need to quickly strengthen his team.
The fastest way to do that would be to capture more powerful Pokémon. However, Sato knew that as a rookie trainer, and with his current resources, simply caring for the three Pokémon he already had was stretching his limits—especially since he was running low on points.
Fortunately, Gloom didn't require many resources to care for, so there was room for one more Pokémon on his team.
But catching a strong Pokémon was no easy task. Even if he managed to catch one, unless he defeated it fairly in battle, any powerful Pokémon caught through underhanded tactics wouldn't respect him. Gaining their trust and getting them to follow orders would be nearly impossible.
Moreover, Sato had chosen to pursue the elite trainer path. He wasn't interested in Pokémon with mediocre potential, and he would never capture one that didn't meet his standards.
In fact, if Gloom hadn't possessed the rare hidden ability Stench, which was proving to be incredibly useful, and the uncommon move Secret Power, Sato wouldn't have considered capturing her. Her physical development was too poor. Compared to other Glooms, she was undersized and had initially given Sato the impression that her potential was lacking.
After understanding that Gloom's small size was likely due to her self-esteem issues caused by her Stench ability, Sato felt much more sympathetic. Clearly, she had been isolating herself for a long time, which affected her growth, but it had nothing to do with her true potential.
As a devoted Pokémon fan, Sato had his own set of principles and standards. He greatly admired Ash's sincere approach to his Pokémon, treating all of them equally with care and respect. On the other hand, he strongly disliked Paul's behavior, who would capture Pokémon only to release them if they didn't meet his standards.
In Sato's view, a trainer must take full responsibility for their Pokémon. Pokémon are companions, and once captured, it's the trainer's duty to care for them and work hard to train them into strong partners. At the same time, since they are companions, trainers should respect their Pokémon's decisions. If a Pokémon chooses to leave, the trainer should give them a heartfelt farewell and let them go.
"The mission item can wait for now. The most important thing is to establish a foothold in Viridian Forest and focus on strengthening Zubat, Gloom, and Nidoran as much as possible," Sato thought to himself after careful consideration. He then closed his laptop and started pouring the now-boiled water into a large steel thermos.
Sato had devised an effective plan for leveling up his Pokémon. Nearby, there was a Beedrill swarm that had repeatedly attacked them without provocation, which Sato found rather annoying. He decided that over the next few days, he would use this Beedrill swarm as a "sharpening stone" to train his Pokémon while also exploring the forest thoroughly.
After all, to find the mission item, he would eventually have to search the entire forest, which would inevitably lead to battles with some of the powerful Pokémon that controlled the area.
Another key consideration was that Nidoran had less than five days left before reaching the end of his juvenile phase. Sato wanted to use this survival trial as an opportunity to train his future ace Pokémon properly.
Nidoran's ability is Hustle, which he will retain when evolving into Nidorino, but it will change to Sheer Force once he becomes a Nidoking. For this reason, Sato needed to quickly raise Nidoran's strength so he could evolve as soon as possible.
From his time in Viridian Forest, Sato had realized that Pokémon couldn't rely solely on training. True strength came from battling other Pokémon. Zubat was a great example of this—after a week of intensive training at the base, his level had only increased from 12 to 15. However, after a few real battles, Zubat's level had shot up to 18.
Of course, this was partly because the Pokémon they encountered now were much stronger. Once Zubat's level caught up to the average level of the surrounding Pokémon, it would be harder to continue leveling up by simply battling weaker opponents. At that point, Sato would need to find similarly strong Pokémon to challenge.
Additionally, any new moves learned through leveling up would require time to master. Zubat's most reliable moves at the moment were Supersonic, Gust, and Shadow Ball. Depending on just these moves to handle any future enemies they might encounter was unrealistic.
While Zubat could still handle Bug-type Pokémon like Beedrill, if they encountered a stronger opponent like Arbok, which had a natural level advantage, Zubat would struggle to secure a win.
Therefore, both training and battles were equally important. The former was the foundation for the latter, and neglecting it could lead to serious consequences in battle, even risking the Pokémon's life due to a lack of solid fundamentals.
--------------------------
Chapters 56, 57 and 58 is now available for free on my Patreon! Please feel free to check them out if you want at - patreon.com/Sniperwoof